Here you will find the most comprehensive list of all MODX terms and concepts to help you better understand the functionality and core concepts of this CMS.
- Core Workspace
- Back End
- Validator (Transport Package)
- Resource Tree
- Document
- Add-on
- Child Resource
- Friendly URLs / Aliases
- Resource / Document Identifier
- File Source
- Category
- Component
- Connector
- Context
- Cache
- Lexicon
- Manager
- Form Customization
- Form Customization Sets
- Variable Set
- Context Setting
- Tag Setting
- User Settings
- Namespace
- Plugins
- Placeholders
- Resource Field
- Variables
- Extension
- Resource
- Resolvers (in a Transport Package)
- Renderer
- Parent resource
- User session and session
- Symlink
- System Setting
- System Event
- Snippet
- Site Link
- Static Resource
- Chunk tag
- Resource tags
- Snippet tags
- Link tags
- Content type
- Lexicon topic
- Transport Package
- Transport Container
- Package Management
- File Resolver
- Chunks
- Template Variables (TVs)
- Element
- Language Tags
- Asset
- xPDOVehicle
Core Workspace
Each unique MODX Core is represented by a named workspace. When you initially install Revolution, the MODX Core used by the setup application is written to the MODX database as the default MODX workspace. Future releases of MODX Revolution will include the ability to manage multiple workspaces from a single database directly from the manager application. This will make it easy to isolate upgrades to MODX Core; by quickly adding a new core workspace and selecting a menu option, you can apply the entire new MODX Core installation to production sites after testing on a staging site, or quickly revert to a previous core workspace that you know works. This will be especially important for multi-site configurations running on shared MODX Core installations.
Back End
Synonymous with the MODX manager (admin) interface.
Validator (Transport Package)
Pre-processor: a script or predefined action that is executed before a transport container is installed or uninstalled. If the validator returns true, the install/uninstall action will proceed as normal. If the validator returns false, MODX will not uninstall or install the package.
A validator can be used to determine if a directory exists and is writable, to see if other MODX items are installed, or to determine if a server is running certain versions of MySQL and PHP. Learn more
Resource Tree
The way Resources are arranged relative to each other, which affects the page structure and therefore the addressing of your site. You can see the Resource Tree in the MODX Manager, it is on the left.
Document
A Resource of a specific type, usually related to a regular page on the site.
Add-on
A third-party MODX component that does not modify the core or extend any of its classes, but still provides additional functionality to a MODX instance.
Child Resource
MODX resources are arranged in a tree, and it may happen that one of the resources is defined as a Container, and inside it are located other resources, in this case, in relation to the Container (which in this case is the Parent resource), such resources are called Children.
Friendly URLs / Aliases
Friendly URLs (FUR) are an abbreviation for SEO-friendly URLs (FUR – “human-readable urls”). SEO, as you probably know, is an abbreviation for Search Engine Optimization. Since “search engine optimized URLs” sounds kind of boring, they are commonly referred to as SEO URLs in MODX.
Resource / Document Identifier
Also called a Document ID, Resource ID, or Document ID, this is a number in parentheses in the MODX Resources tree in the Manager that uniquely identifies the specified resource.
File Source
With an IF, you can specify the “source” of media across a variety of types, from the file system to an Amazon S3 bucket to a Flickr album. MODX provides two basic source types: the file system and the Amazon S3 bucket integration. Other sources can be created by creating media source drivers or by downloading them from the Component Setup.
Category
An optional classifying name that can be attached to any item or PropertySet (and other objects in later versions of Revolution) that distinguishes it from other similar objects.
Component
Also called a “Third Party Component” or 3PC, a component typically provides additional functionality to MODX, usually in the form of an add-on, core extension, or template.
Connector
The entry point for AJAX requests. It does not do any database manipulation itself: the connector simply loads the main MODX class, sanitizes any request data, and then processes the request by pointing to the appropriate processor file.
Context
A delimiter of resources and settings that can be used for a variety of reasons; typically used to create multi-context sites such as subdomains, multilingual sites, etc.
Cache
The process of storing frequently accessed data and where it is stored. By caching reusable data, many database queries can be avoided, resulting in improved performance. MODX Revolution offers a number of different caching features at different levels of the application.
Lexicon
A Lexicon is a dictionary of words and phrases organized by Culture (more specific than language, i.e. En-UK) that is used to internationalize the Manager application and can be used by add-on and core extension developers to provide localization tools for their components. This replaces the legacy MODX language files and allows customization of entries directly from the Manager application.
Manager
The backend of the MODX interface – the administrative panel of the site.
Form Customization
A feature that allows users to create rules that determine how Manager pages display their forms. Learn more
Form Customization Sets
A set of rules that are executed for a specific page (action) in the Manager. Currently sets can be applied to the resource creation or update pages. Learn more
Variable Set
A set of variables used for a specific purpose with an element. Property Sets are attached to Elements and pass the Properties they pass as parameters to the Element. An example is a custom property set for a snippet that passes specific parameters to the element, overriding the default behavior.
Context Setting
A single setting for that context that either creates a new setting or overrides a system setting.
Tag Setting
Tags of the form [[++SettingName]]
that reference MODX System Settings, Context Settings, and User Settings.
User Settings
A user setting that either creates a new setting or overrides similar context settings and system settings. Used to provide unique settings for that user.
Namespace
An organizational tag for components, used to identify lexicon entries, settings, and other objects related to the component on the Revolution site. Also specifies the absolute path where the component can be found.
Plugins
Plugins in MODX Revolution are extensions that add additional functionality and capabilities to the CMS. They can be used to perform various tasks, such as event handling, content modification, or additional authentication.
Placeholders
Tags like [[+PlaceholderName]]
, which are references to MODX placeholders, are usually set with $modx->setPlaceholder('placeholderName','value')
in a snippet or plugin.
Resource Field
Any fields of the site_content
table, such as pagetitle
, longtitle
, introtext
, content
, alias
, menuindex
, etc. Some fields are accessible from the document creation/edit screen. Others may only be accessible via the documentObject
.
Variables
A single variable per element is used to set a specific parameter for the element.
Extension
Also called a “core extension”. A third-party MODX component that modifies the MODX core, such as a custom or authentication class, caching mechanisms, or context manipulation classes.
Resource
A type of container that is interpreted by the parser to obtain its contents. Can have any number of derived classes, the most common being document.
Resolvers (in a Transport Package)
Post Processor: A script or predefined action that is evaluated after the Transport Container is installed or uninstalled. The resolver is always executed after the vehicle object is save()'d
, and can then perform actions on MODX before anything else happens during the install/uninstall process.
An example of a PHP resolver is one that attaches plugin events to a newly installed plugin.
An example of a resolver file is one that copies the assets/getResources directory in the xPDOVehicle path to /MODX/assets/getResources.
Renderer
In a general sense, a function that transforms the data passed to it according to a certain rule. For example, renderers are actively used in Collections
Parent resource
Resources in MODX are arranged in a tree, and it may happen that one of the resources is defined as a Container, and other resources are located inside it, in this case the Container will be the Parent resource, and the “subordinate” resources will be Child.
User session and session
The period of time during which MODX will uniquely recognize all requests from the user and associate them with him. After this time, the connection with the client will be lost, and the next request from it will be processed as absolutely unique, not associated with the previous ones.
Symlink
A type of resource that refers to one local MODX resource; the contents of the Resource will replace the contents of the symbolic link.
System Setting
A site-wide variable accessible to the MODX site. Can be overridden by context settings and user settings.
System Event
A MODX event that is “fired” throughout the MODX code in response to various system actions.
Snippet
Snippets are small programming scripts (allows you to run dynamic PHP code) that add additional functionality to pages.
Site Link
A type of resource that links to a specific URL or MODX resource, redirecting the visitor to that URL or resource.
Static Resource
A specific type of resource that is a direct link to a specific file on the MODX site. The contents are replaced with the contents of that file.
Chunk tag
Tags of the form [[$ChunkName]]
that can be used for chunks.
Resource tags
Tags of the form [[*ResourceFieldTV]]
that can be used to reference resource fields or template variables.
Snippet tags
Tags of the form [[SnippetName]]
, also referred to as Snippet calls.
Link tags
Tags of the form [[~ResourceId]]
that reference the URL of a specific resource.
Content type
Sets the extension, MIME type, and binary parameter for any resource.
Lexicon topic
A set of lexicon entries devoted to a specific topic. Revolution only loads lexicon entries as they are needed by topic to reduce load times.
Transport Package
A zip-packed set of Transport Containers that can be easily distributed (“transported”) from one main workspace to another. Learn more
Transport Container
A smart container that encapsulates any artifact that can be distributed in a Transport Package. Transport Containers store their payload in a portable format. Learn more
Package Management
A web service that allows remote installation of Transport Packages directly from the Admin.
File Resolver
A type of xPDOVehicle Resolver that copies files from a source location to a target location in a transport package.
Chunks
Chunks are fragments of HTML code that can be reused across multiple pages of a site. They are useful for creating repeating elements such as headers, footers, or sidebars. Chunks can be included in a template using the appropriate MODX tags.
Template Variables (TVs)
TVs (Template Variables) are custom parameters that can be added to pages and can have different data types such as text, numbers, dates, etc. TVs can be used to create dynamic content and customize a page for different purposes.
Element
Also called “Content Elements”, the Element Manager tree displays a single Template, Template Variable, Chunk, Snippet, Plugin, Category, or Property Set.
Language Tags
Tags of the form [[%LanguageStringKey]]
are a reference to the MODX lexicon.
Asset
Any type of file resource that typically resides in the /assets directory, as defined by the MODX_ASSETS_PATH constant; may include third-party components, libraries, image files, CSS files, JavaScript files, class files, etc.
xPDOVehicle
The base Transport Vehicle class, xPDOVehicle, stores xPDOObject instances (which represent a row of data in a table) in its payload, along with various attributes that control how the object is installed/uninstalled in the main workspace.
The above terms and definitions represent only some of the key concepts and functionality of MODX Revolution. The CMS provides many other features and tools that will help you create and manage your websites more efficiently and conveniently. I hope that this glossary will help you navigate the system more easily and better understand its functionality.